At
the reform school, I’d learned to eat like a
dog, so being hand–fed felt alien. I took the
apple slices with both hands, my voice small and hesitant. “Thank you, thank you. Please, don’t trouble yourself. I can do it.” Now
Mom’s face fell. She looked at me with a mixture of pity and confusion. “Ashley, why are you being so polite to me?”
く
Because once, when I tried to hold her hand,
she’d pushed me away, saying, “You disgust
- me. Stay away from me.” Stay away. I’d memorized those words. Why was she asking
me this now?
Finally, my parents realized something was wrong with their daughter. If they came near, I recoiled, a bristling hedgehog. Mom watched
me with sorrowful eyes. Dad’s brow was
permanently furrowed.
After a while, I was discharged. My parents
returned to work, leaving me with Chloe.
She’d feed me rotten bananas from the trash,
giggling as I ate them. She’d spill food on the floor and force me to lick it up. She’d sit on
me, her laughter growing louder as I trembled
beneath her.
Then one day, she offered to take me to the store. She led me through winding streets,
into a dark alley. At the end, shadowy figures emerged. Chloe smiled at them. “Here she is. Have your fun. Just…make sure she’s gone
when I come back.”
The leader, a man with a scarred face, took a
drag from his cigarette. “Everyone knows
your cousin’s a fighter. We wouldn’t dare
touch her.” Chloe grabbed a stick and swung
it at my head. I screamed, cowering, begging.
Her smile widened. “See? She’s lost it. She’s
more likely to piss herself than throw a
punch.”
Scarface grinned, yanking my hair, his rough
thumb brushing my cheek. The others closed
- in. Chloe leaned close. “Once you’re gone, I
get everything. So just…die quietly.” She left.
The men grew bolder, cursing, their hands all
over me. I whimpered, curling into a ball.
Scarface sneered. “Ready for the slaughter,
little rabbit?”
The next second, a fist slammed into his face, breaking his nose. Everyone froze. I flexed my wrist, my eyes sharp and focused, no trace of fear. “Who’s the rabbit?”
L
The thugs roared, lunging at me. Scarface
swung, but I moved with the speed and power that had made me a force in underground fighting rings. I dodged their attacks, my fists finding their soft bellies. Each punch was met
with a howl of pain. In moments, they were all
down. Only Scarface remained, kneeling,
terrified, blood streaming from his nose. He’d
wet himself. I calmly pulled his head down
and smashed it against the concrete wall,
spraying blood. My knee connected with his jaw, teeth flying. They lay groaning, some begging for mercy, others silent. I wiped my hands. “I’ll spare your lives. But this stays buried. And you cooperate. Understood, rabbits?” Scarface, his head a bloody mess, nodded frantically. I patted the only clean
L
spot on his head and walked out of the alley,
my breathing even.
I loved scorpions. They waited patiently in the
shadows, striking with deadly precision when
their prey least expected it.
